Raising Dunhams
by Aussie-Muggle
Summary: Nina could still remember, even if Olivia couldn't.
1. Liability

Liability

"Nina?"

Nina Sharp's eyes lit up the moment she caught sight of William Bell in the doorway of her office.

"Good morning, William," she said with a bright smile reserved only for him. "You'll be pleased to hear that we have that contract with Homeland Security signed, sealed and delivered. The products are being manufactured as we speak."

Bell hesitated.

"That's wonderful news."

Nina's smile faded.

"William, is something wrong?"

Bell sighed and moved in front of her desk. He held a blank, white file in his hands.

"I need you to do something for me."

"Anything," said Nina immediately. Unlike many of his other employees, Bell knew she meant it.

"I need you to foster two girls. Olivia and Rachel Dunham."

Nina didn't speak at first. She simply stared at Bell.

"You can't be serious," she said finally.

"Olivia... is a very special little girl," said Bell. "It is imperative that she is well looked after."

The colour drained from Nina's face and she stood up abruptly.

"William, don't be _absurd_!" she blurted loudly. "I am running your company for you! I couldn't possibly-"

Bell put up a hand to stop her.

"Anything you need will be provided."

But Nina was beyond being placated by his words.

"Why not someone else? _Anyone else_?" she shouted. "You have _hundreds _of employees more suited to parenting than I am!"

"You're the only one I trust," said Bell with the same quiet, reassuring tone he employed when speaking to frightened test subjects.

As he intended, this sentence stunned Nina into silence once more. William very rarely expressed any feeling for her.

"You... you haven't given me a reasonable explanation yet," she managed finally. "Since when has the company been involved in foster care?"

"Olivia Dunham is Subject 13 in the Cortexiphan Trails," muttered Bell. "Her mother just died."

"... oh."

"She ran away before the memory modification protocols could be undertaken and soon afterwards there was... an incident with her stepfather."

"Incident?"

"He was abusive. Olivia was trying to defend her mother... she found the gun..."

Nina turned, if possible, even paler.

"She _shot _him?" she whispered.

"Fatally."

Nina slumped back into her chair.

"Nina-"

"So not only is Olivia Dunham emotionally scarred," she interrupted, letting a hint of anger show. "she's a liability to Massive Dynamic?"

"I don't need to tell you what would happen if it got out that Calvin Genetics experimented on children," said Bell, who suddenly sounded rather patronising. "We can't afford another incident like the one in New Jersey. Will you take them in?"

"Do I have a choice?" asked Nina bitterly.

Bell handed her the file, which was entirely devoted to "Subject 13". Nina glanced at the first few pages and tossed the folder unceremoniously on her desk.

"Is there a Rachel Dunham footnote?" she asked sarcastically.

"Rachel won't accidentally burn your apartment to the ground if she gets frightened."

"I'll stock up on fire extinguishers," she said coldly. "William, if I'm going to foster _two_ girls, there are things I need to know about _both of them_."

"Rachel is a few years younger, if I remember correctly. I'll have social services send you her records as well."

"Fine."

"You're angry with me."

"How observant of you," snarled Nina.

Bell sighed.

"Will a week be sufficient to prepare?"

Nina glowered in response. All the time in the world wouldn't prepare her for this.

"William... please leave."

He did as she asked without another word. Nina buried her face in her hands for a moment before reaching for her phone.

"Lana, cancel my appointments for the week... yes, all of them," she muttered to her secretary. "Director Webster will have to reschedule."


	2. Arrival

A/N: First of all, my thanks to the reviewers. You guys make my day :).

Secondly, as my penname would suggest, I am not an American. I'm not exactly familiar with the protocol for foster care in the States or the schooling system for that matter. I'm making an assumption that Bell is pulling some strings to limit the involvement of Social Services but if I mess up something to do with the schooling system, I would be very grateful if you corrected my ignorance. I did look at Wikipedia/Google but I may have missed something.

I really want to get this right. It always bugs me when I see something obviously American in Harry Potter fanfics (it's set in Britain, damn it!) so, if you see anything weirdly foreign, let me know.

* * *

Arrival

Nina arrived at Penn Station a full half an hour early. Her driver was waiting outside, amusing himself with a crossword, and she was waiting on the platform, pacing furiously. Nina's phone chimed in her pocket, making her jump slightly.

"How is everything going?" came the deep, familiar voice of William Bell.

"My family home in Catskills has been cleared out, the train is on schedule," said Nina conversationally, "and I've already thrown up twice today."

"You deal with horrific Fringe events and corporate politics," said Bell with a quiet chuckle. "You can handle this."

"Bureaucrats and mad scientists are easy to deal with."

"I have faith in you, Nina," said Bell firmly. "The Dunhams are in good hands."

Nina sighed and found herself relaxing slightly after hearing Bell's reassuring tones.

"I'm still angry with you," she muttered.

"No, you're not," said Bell, and Nina could picture that self satisfied smile she both loved and loathed.

The low screeching of the train approaching carried through the tunnel. Nina found her nerves returning.

"They're here," she said through pursed lips. "I'll speak with you later."

People swarmed from the train and Nina wasn't quite tall enough to see over them. When the hoards had departed, two blond girls with overnight bags and an older, motherly looking woman were left behind. The smaller of the two girls was clinging onto the elder like a lifeline and looking nothing short of terrified. The taller girl didn't look as frightened but the way she gripped onto her luggage until her knuckles turned white and refused to look Nina in the eye told a very different story.

For a moment, Nina stood where she was, at an utter loss at what to do. She took a deep breath and willed herself not to sound as petrified as she felt.

"Hello," she said as confidently as she could. "You must be Olivia and Rachel."

She must have used the same authoritative tone she used to address the employees at Massive Dynamic because Rachel flinched and clung tighter onto Olivia's arm. The elder Dunham seemed to move almost unconsciously between Nina and Rachel, as if to act as a human shield.

"Hello, Miss Sharp," said Olivia, not quite meeting Nina's eyes.

If Nina wasn't the COO of the most powerful corporation in the world, she would have winced.

"You don't have to call me that," she said, trying to sound less severe. "Nina is fine."

Olivia didn't respond and refused to look at her. Rachel just stared, like a deer caught in the headlights.

Nina was used to respect, not abject terror. She found herself turning to the social worker instead.

"You're Miranda Templeton?" asked Nina.

The older woman nodded uncomfortably. She had been given very strict instructions to leave the girls with Nina and head back but apparently this didn't sit well with her.

"Yes," said Templeton hesitantly. "Perhaps I should accompany the girls to your house at least?"

Nina was sorely tempted to accept but William had been very clear. Olivia's abilities manifested when she was frightened for those she cared about. The last thing Nina needed was a display of pyrokinesis in front of someone who worked for Child Services.

"No, we should be fine," she said finally. "Is that all?"

Templeton nodded, said a brief goodbye to Olivia and Rachel and left. Nina forced herself to speak for the second time.

"Do you need help with those bags?" she asked as gently as she could.

Once again, it was Olivia who spoke up.

"We're fine, Miss Sharp," she said impassively.

Nina bit back a sigh. The Dunhams had no reason to trust the adults in their lives. She would have to earn it.

"The car is this way," she said, resigned. "Shall we?"


	3. Progress

_AN: Hit a wall of writer's block. Then I watched 5x10. Yeah. *ugly sobbing*_

_A lot of this was based on what Olivia said in 4x14. I'm assuming that, aside from the details that William Bell would have known, "Meana" Sharp was talking out of her arse. _

_The next update will take a while because I accidentally deleted the entire thing. And that, boys and girls, is why you back up your documents._

* * *

Progress

After an entirely wordless dinner of Italian take out, Nina sent the girls to bed. It was only nine o'clock but Rachel looked exhausted and Nina could feel a headache coming on. Sleep was elusive and she found herself staring at her bedroom ceiling hours later. With a wry chuckle at the thought of what she and Bell used to do (or rather, smoke) when they couldn't sleep, she pulled herself out of bed and went to check on the Dunhams.

Rachel's room was the closest. The eleven year old was fast asleep. Her face was half buried beneath the covers, a well-loved, stuffed bear was nestled in the crook of her arm and her blonde hair was splayed across her pillow. Nina quietly closed the door and headed to Olivia's bedroom.

She was gone.

Nina forced down a wave of panic and the urge to call the police, the army and have the Massive Dynamic satellites mobilised. When she rushed out to search the rest of house, she caught sight of a sliver of light escaping from beneath her study door.

She slipped inside and found her missing charge, totally engrossed by one of Nina's old science fiction novels. Olivia looked more relaxed than she had ever seen her. Lost to the world and utterly oblivious to her presence.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" asked Nina softly.

The reaction was immediate. Olivia jumped up and dropped the book, her eyes wide with fear. Nina quickly took a step back and raised her palms.

"It's quite understandable," said Nina softly. "I can't sleep either."

Nina saw Olivia try to hide the panic. The blonde's face had suddenly turned stony and she seemed much older than fourteen years old. Nina could guess what the source of this behaviour was.

"I'm sorry, Miss Sharp," said Olivia, fighting back a slight tremor in her voice and looking anywhere but Nina's face. "I should have asked first."

"Nonsense," said Nina dismissively, slowly picking up the book from the floor. "Books are made to be read. Scientific curiosity won't be discouraged in _this_ household."

She smiled and held out the book for young teen. Olivia let out the breath she had been holding and accepted it. Her eyes met Nina's for the first time.

"Thanks, Miss Sharp."

"You are allowed to call me '_Nina'_, you know."

Olivia shrugged a little sheepishly. Nina decided to let it go.

"Hungry?" she asked as casually as possible. "I have cereal."

A slight smile flashed across Olivia's face and she followed Nina into the kitchen. The kitchen was rather out dated compared to the rest of the house and far too large for a woman who lived on her own and rarely cooked anything. But Edna Sharp had loved her kitchen as much as Nina loved her laboratory, and Nina didn't have the heart to change it.

Olivia took at seat at the counter. The teen still seemed wired but she no longer flinched at Nina's every movement. Nina found this enormously encouraging. When she took out the cereal from the cupboard, Olivia even raised an eyebrow.

"_You_ eat cocoa krispies?" asked Olivia with mild disbelief.

Nina allowed herself a grin.

"When one runs a multibillion dollar company and babysits mad scientists, vast amounts of chocolate are necessary for one's sanity," said Nina dryly.

She fixed a bowl for both herself and Olivia and the pair ate in comfortable silence. When their bowls were near empty and it looked like Olivia wasn't about to jump out of her skin (or the universe), Nina decided that it safe to speak.

"Anything in particular keeping you up?" she asked gently.

Olivia shook her head unconvincingly. Nina considered prying a little more but thought better of it.

"I'm here if you need anything," was all that she ended up saying.

Olivia only managed a half-smile at that but it was more than Nina had expected. The dishes were put away and all evidence of their midnight indulgence removed. After a mumbled thank you and a very tired good night, Olivia returned to her room and (under Nina's watchful eye) fell asleep moments after her head hit the pillow.


End file.
